He is one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He was foretold by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the well-known hadith recorded by Abu Dawud: "Verily Allah will send this Ummah at the head of every hundred years (could mean every generation) one who would revive for it (i.e. the ummah) its deen." T
o give the reader a brief explanation of who we are and what we are trying to accomplish. It is in the life of Shehu Uthman Dan Fodiyo that we find an exemplified character who in fact revived the deen with the blessings of Allah to be a complete revival. He revived all aspects of the deen, both inner and the outer sciences, and the revival of Islam's social order (i.e. khilaafah) as it was set up by the early community (as-Salaf). His reformation was aimed and suited for all segments of the society. He and his companions wrote, lectured and composed poetry which: (1)stopped the oppression of the rulers, (2) protected the common-folk from the rulings and judgments of the evil-scholars and their students,(3) protected women from the oppression of their husbands. He taught the basics of Islam - as well as its advanced sciences through his works in which his students help to disseminate. He was able to tread this path that his father Muhammad laid down for him that he would one day travel. As a young boy, he would travel to the different villages with his father while on his lecture tours. When Shaykh 'Uthman Dan Fodiyo got older, he would also become an itinerate teacher. He would go to the market places and call the people back to the worship and obedience of Allah, the most high, and to the Sunnah of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. At the age of 40, Shaykh 'Uthman Dan Fodiyo had a major run-in with the pseudo-Muslim government and emerged with a clear victory. It was then when he went into a spiritual retreat. It was after these experiences that he was given the honorable title 'Nur uz-Zamaan' - literally meaning "Light of the Age". Upon examination of his life and works, it becomes obvious why we would associate and pattern ourselves upon his methodology (Minhaj). May Allah give us Tawfeeq.
